This application claims the priority of German application 198 37 800.9, filed in Germany on Aug. 20, 1998[, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein].
The invention relates to a fuselage nose for controlling aerodynamic vehicles, Preferred embodiments relate to such a fuselage nose for missiles.
See German Patent Documents DOS 1956173 and DOS 2917096, as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,642,234 and 4,786,009 for background prior art.
A high-performance aircraft is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,234, said aircraft having a slat arrangement in its forward fuselage area that can be retracted and extended. This arrangement, in the extended state, serves to increase positive pitch in certain flying states.
A beam-controlled aircraft with control and/or trim flaps located in the vicinity of the cockpit is known from DE-OS 19 56 173, said flaps being mounted so that they can be folded down in such fashion that they are identical in the folded state with the outer skin of the aircraft fuselage.
A method and/or device for controlling the yaw of an aircraft is known from U.S. Pat. No. [4,78,009] No. 4,786,009, said method or device being provided for high angles of attack at which the control surfaces of the aircraft are ineffective. Two battens are provided symmetrically with respect to one another and movably on the forward fuselage segment in order to produce vortices at the forward part of the fuselage in a controlled fashion. The deflections of the two battens are controlled antisymmetrically in order to produce asymmetric vortices at the forward part of the fuselage, and therefore yaw forces.
An aircraft with a sensor device for monitoring a landscape to be overflown is known from DE-OS 29 17 0 96. The aircraft has a nose which is rotatable around the lengthwise axis, with a tip that is pivotable around a transverse axis and carries the sensor device. The underside of the nose is provided with a viewing shaft for monitoring, tracking, and angular or fire guidance directed rearwardly over a wide angle.
The flight range of conventionally controlled aerodynamic vehicles is limited in the higher angle of incidence range, that is, at angles of incidence as high as above 45.degree., among other things, by the elimination of the effectiveness of the vertical rudder. As a measure for increasing the flyable angle of incidence range, the thrust vector control is known from prior art. However, such solutions require very high expenditures with respect to equipment and control.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide technical measures which are as simple as possible and by means of which the angle of incidence range which can be flown by aerodynamic vehicles can be increased.
This object is achieved according to preferred embodiments of the invention by providing a control system for aerodynamic vehicles having a fuselage nose segment and at least one strake, wherein the fuselage nose segment can be rotationally adjusted with respect to an aircraft fuselage and the at least one strake is mounted on the fuselage nose segment so that it can be swung out.
Other advantageous features of preferred embodiments of the invention are described below and in the claims.
The invention has the advantage that it can be implemented by means of relatively low constructive and equipment-related expenditures. The invention has a considerable control potential as the result of the fuselage nose strakes specifically in the angle of incidence range at which the conventional vertical rudder has already completely lost its function. By means of the fuselage nose strakes according to the invention, not only yawing movements of the aerodynamic vehicle can be introduced but, in the presence of an angle of yaw, the rotary movement about the normal axis can also be guided out.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.